Editorial: NAACP: No more for the 'N-word'

The N-word is dead, at least in the hearts and minds of delegates attending the recent NAACP national convention in Detroit.

The despicable racial epithet was given a fitting "burial" in the Motor City. One should hope it stays buried and never surfaces again in our society.

One has to wonder, though, how the word came to accepted in some African-American circles. Rap artists have tried to legitimize its use as some sort of "cultural" phenomenon.

Black comedians, too, have used the word in their stand-ups. Some black comedians, such as Bill Cosby, have called down others for its use. Cosby, who thrilled a West Texas A&M University Event Center crowd with a hilarious monologue, never uttered the filthy word during his performance.

Other African-American entertainers used to make handsome livings off the word, only to later renounce its use. The late Richard Pryor was one of them.

Will the word die just because a leading civil-rights organization decrees its death? Hardly.

Popular culture is too vulnerable to other, less sane, influences. One can hope, though, that responsible Americans everywhere heed the NAACP's declaration as a statement the hideous racial epithet is on its way to the trash heap where it belongs.